A recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that medical errors in hospitals and healthcare facilities account for 250,000 deaths a year. That’s more than other notorious causes like respiratory disease and stroke.
Researchers say medical errors are not counted by theCenters for Disease Controlbecause of an oversight in the system hospitals use to record causes of death.
Medical errors include things like misdiagnosis, surgical mishaps and accidental prescription overdoses.
According to the study’s co-author Dr. Michael Daniel, miscommunication between doctors and patients lead to many fatal medical errors.
Dr. Daniel joins Tom in-studio to discuss the study’s findings and what can be done to address the issue.
